McLaren loses appeal to build hospital in Clarkston

McLaren Health Care Corp. lost its appeal Friday to build a $303 million hospital in Clarkston.

Judge Colleen O’Brien of Oakland County Circuit Court ruled against the Flint-based 11-hospital system, which filed suit in June to reverse the Michigan Department of Community Health’s decision to deny a certificate-of-need application for the hospital.

"Obviously, we are disappointed in Judge O'Brien's opinion," said Kevin Tompkins, vice president for marketing at McLaren. "We will continue to explore all available options including the possibility of appealing this opinion.

"We continue to hold to the firm belief that our Certificate of Need application clearly demonstrates the need for an acute care hospital in Clarkston."

Under its original February 2012 Certificate of Need application, McLaren asked to move 200 unused beds from its McLaren Oakland Hospital in Pontiac to a new hospital it plans to build on an 80-acre tract it owns in Independence Township.

But Community Health rejected McLaren’s CON, citing regulations that only allow “adding beds to an already existing, licensed hospital, replacing beds within a two-mile replacement zone or relocating beds to an already existing, licensed hospital.”

The distance between McLaren Oakland Hospital and the proposed hospital site in Independence Township is about eight miles.